Cold Hands
by AishiteSubete
Summary: The winter after the events of Kingdom Hearts 2, Sora and Kairi are starting to grow distant. On Christmas Eve, they have a little heart-to-heart that just might patch up everything. SoKai, prompt: "cold hands, warm heart."


Title: Cold Hands

Author: AishiteSubete

Rating: T

Summary: It's the first winter after the events of Kingdom Hearts 2, and Sora and Riku have returned to the islands. On Christmas Eve, Sora and Kairi have a heart to heart. SoKai. Romance. Mention of other Final Fantasy characters.

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**Kairi POV**

_Merry Christmas to me_, I thought to myself bitterly, drawing lazy circles in the sand. It was eleven o'clock on the night of Christmas Eve, and I didn't really have anyone to spend it with. Selphie was celebrating with Tidus and his family, Riku was at home with his own family, and Sora was most likely off somewhere with that cursed Rinoa girl, snogging in some dark corner.

Ever since Sora and Riku returned to the Islands, they were able to hook every girl around with fantastical tales of their adventures and of other worlds. I don't know how many times I have heard Sora boast about taking down the giant Chernabog, or how he single-handedly defeated the fire-wielding pyromaniac, Axel. The girls he told-specificially Serah Farron, Rinoa, and Vanille-would go all gaga over him, and tell him how strong and incredible he was. It makes me sick.

So here I am, spending Christmas alone, without my friends. Poor, pathetic me. I had thought that my two closest comrades would want to spend more time with me-well, Riku's situation I can understand. I would want to spend time with my family, too, if I hadn't seen them in nearly 2 years. But Sora? No, he's out of the house more than he was when he wasn't on the Islands, if that's even possible. All he cares about his who he can impress next. It's a sad reality, and I'm not even sure if I can accept it yet.

I could hear someone approaching from behind, and my fingers stopped tracing patterns in the sand, and my body went rigid. Who on earth could be out here at this time of night? I felt my palm getting hot, and I knew my Keyblade woul appear at any time. I whirled around, and my eyes went wide and my palm went cold. "Oh, so you actually _do_ care enough to visit me? Or did Rinoa just ditch you for Wakka?"

I was surprised by the malice in my voice, but moreso by the hurt in his eyes.

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**Sora POV**

_Merry Christmas to me, _I thought to myself bitterly, holding my Keyblade in front of my face for closer inspection. The metal was still polished and unscathed, despite the many fierce battles I've had with it. I sighed; when would I ever be able to use it again?

It's been six months since I've returned to the Islands from my universe-saving adventure-and boy, has my life definitely been changed! Riku and I have been the talk of the town; we've gotten every honor the Destiny Islands could give us, and we've become the most popular people around. Heck, I even have girls lined up at my door to hear more stories about how awesome my travels were; usually, I oblige them.

But even with my popularity and stunning good looks, I'm still spending Christmas alone.

My own best friends weren't even here to celebrate in the end of the year with me. Riku was off spending it with his family-something that I _should_ be doing-and Kairi-well, I don't even know what's been going on with that girl lately.

My heart ached when I thought about Kairi. Every time she sees me, she gives me the same old cold stare, and blows me off. I don't even know what I've done to hurt her so badly-honestly, I don't think I've done anything at all!

Knowing Kairi, she's most likely at the beach, watching the ocean waves; she does that every night, like some crazy ritual that she can't seem to let go of. So, making up my mind, I pulled on my shoes and set out towards the beach.

When I arrive, it's clear that I've surprised her; she went tense, before snapping her head around to look at me. With wide, malice-filled eyes, she said, "Oh, so you actually _do_ care enough to visit me? Or did Rinoa just ditch you for Wakka?"

It was like my heart broke; in that instant, I knew I've done something so wrong.

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**3rd Person POV**

"Kairi, I'm sorry," Sora said, his voiced laced with remorse. "What have I done?" He moved close to her, sitting beside her on the white sand. She began to squirm away, but the arm he wrapped around her pulled her closer to him. "Please tell me what I've done so I can make it right."

Kairi turned her face from him, unwilling to say anything. She knew that if she told him how she felt, he'd see her as nothing but selfish and catty. "Kairi, please," he continued, looking at her with those soft, ocean-blue eyes. With sight of regret, she turned to him and said,

"Ever since you and Riku returned to the Islands, it was like you spent more time with those other girls than you did with the girl you were fighting to save for two years."

Sora's eyes widened considerably-he hadn't even noticed that all the time he has been spending with Rinoa and Serah and Vanille was actually hurting Kairi. He snuggled close to her, lacing his fingers with her own. "I'm sorry, Kairi," he said, laying his head delicately on her shoulder. "How about we spend more time together to make up for all that's been lost?"

She smiled lightly. "I've missed you, you know," she said, gripping his hand tighter. "Your hands are cold," Kairi stated simply, cuddling in closer to Sora.

"Yeah, but your heart is warm," Sora said, kissing her gently before turning to gaze at the stars.

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**A simple little one-shot written for my dearest friend, Kiarnni, based on the prompt she gave me: "Romance, KH, 'cold hands, warm heart.'"**

**I'm so relieved to finally get another piece finished! Hope it was enjoyed!**

**xoxo**

**AishiteSubete  
**


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